Recessionary forces impacted employment during this period in ways never recorded in past recessions. Prior to the recession employment was strong, with rates nearly twice that of prior recession. When the NBER determined the 1900-91 a recession several industries experienced their first recessionary employment drop, while others remarkably were not as severally affected as in the past. Declines were more widespread across the major occupational and industry groups. White-collar workers in general and workers in the finance, insurance, and real estate industry were at greater risks in losing their jobs in the early 1990's than any time in the past. Employment in construction and trade decreased at a faster rate than the average for prior recessions, and unusual weakness was evident in the services industry as well. In contrast to these worse-than-average performances mining, transportation, and public utilities had milder employment declines than prior recessions. Another notable first time decrease came in adult women's employment. It experienced its first recessionary decline in three decades, losing 0.5 percent during the contraction. Teenage workers accounted for a relatively large share of the employment reductions, more so than previous recessions. Levels decreased form July 1989 to June 1992 by a total of 22.5 percent. The magnitude of this drop was twice that of the average decrease. About one year before the start of the recession an about ½ year before the contraction, the number of discouraged workers began to increase. In past recessions blue collared workers borne the brunt but in this case white collared workers shared a more balanced impact. The rate of increase in the number of permanent job losers between July 1990 and June 1992 was about the same as the average for prior downturns. The number of unemployed job losers increased at a much slower pace than in earlier recessions.
